PREVALENCE OF SECONDARY DAPSONE RESISTANCE IN GUDIYATTAM TALUK, THE LEPROSY CONTROL AREA OF THE SCHIEFFELIN LEPROSY RESEARCH AND TRAINING-CENTER, KARIGIRI .1. PRELIMINARY-REPORT

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 48  (4) , 397-401
Abstract
A preliminary study of the prevalence rate of secondary dapsone resistance among leprosy patients in Gudiyattam Taluk, Tamil Nadu (India), was undertaken. During the period from March 1978-Feb. 1979, there were 1580 lepromatous and borderline lepromatous patients considered to be at risk of developing secondary resistance. Of them, 1431 were examined clinically and reactivation and/or relapse was found in 114 patients. Of these, 46 had a bacteriological index of 2.00 and more. Skin biopsies were taken from 26 patients for mouse foot pad studies. Resistance to dapsone at the highest drug concentration was found in 22 and partial resistance in 2 patients. The organisms from 2 patients were sensitive to dapsone. Twenty patients were not biopsied because they had been absent from treatment for significant periods of time. These patients are now under observation. Prior to this study, 9 patients had been confirmed to have dapsone resistance in the control area and during the present study 24 additional patients with secondary resistance have so far been detected. Thus 33 patients with dapsone resistance among the 1431 patients examined yields a crude prevalence rate of 2.3% in Gudiyattam Taluk.

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